‘Police as Ploughmen’: Temporary Release to Help Farmers in the Food Crisis of First World War Britain

Police skills and manpower require occasional reassessment within dominant discourses. World War One saw huge urgent shifts surrounding patriotism. From late 1916, government prioritised agriculture to avoid impending starvation and food riots. Government helped farmers to increase and change production by substitution, initially from two groups, the army and civilians. Farmers rejected many early army substitutes as incompetent, while many policemen possessed latent agricultural skills. Despite intense pressure and many new duties, policemen loaned to farmers were widely welcomed and encouraged. Lending manpower to farmers provided a solution to the challenges of men of military age remaining in the police.